National Cancer Survivors Day

Today (Sunday, June 6) is National Cancer Survivors Day. Here’s a clipping from my cancer scrapbook which shows me at the Southern Oregon NCSD in 2002, as a 2-year survivor of cancer.
 
Back then, I didn’t have a yoga practice. I did some breathing to relax during tests and treatments, and it was very helpful, but I didn’t really understand the power of a breath practice.

I have now lived over 21 years as a cancer survivor. Many things have contributed to my feelings of wellness and gratitude since that year of diagnosis, surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. One of the most important has been the incorporation of yoga into my life. The benefits of yoga are far greater than I could have imagined when I began my practice in 2009. I has provided me with some tools that I can carry forward into the next decades of my life. It can help you, too!

One of the fundamental tools of yoga is pranayama – breath awareness and control. The breath is a fascinating tool, as it is both voluntary and involuntary. This means we can bring our awareness to it and even control it, but if we don’t, it will still work. If you sit in a resting position and just become still, your breath will naturally flow in and out of your lungs. On the other hand, you can (for example) intentionally inhale slowly, pause, and exhale slowly.

Our ability to control our breath is a powerful mechanism for focusing our attention, calming our mind, relaxing our body, relieving anxiety, and more. And it turns out that if you can breathe, you have a yoga body, so anyone can have a yoga practice – including cancer survivors.

And if you’re not a survivor of cancer, all of the above still applies.

Breathe in slowly…….breathe out slowly……..

P.S. A cancer survivor is anyone living with a history of cancer, from the moment of diagnosis through the rest of your life.
 

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